Yeah, I used to work at fedex and talked to quite a few of the drivers there. They bid on routes, they own their truck… they are responsible for all the maintenance and gear they have etc.
Some guys start out like an “apprentice” a guy will hire someone to go on route with him, sometimes take over when he wants a day off type deal and may eventually sell the route off to him.
Most new guys I saw rent Ryder trucks, slap a FedEx magnet on the side and then evtually buy a truck.
Every fedex driver is almost like their own seperate buisness, unlike UPS in which you work for UPS. Here you pay for the right to deliver on behlaf of fedex.
Some of these “routes” are the same thing. IIRC Coke does it, many small snack and drink companies do it.